New perspective
by solka
Summary: How would some scenes, situations and moments turn out if Kane was present in Clarke's life from early on? He and Jake would be close friends, so it would be normal for Kane to visit the Griffin household and - eventually - grow a bond with the girl. Slight AU, mostly sticking to the canon, but adding some new insight into Kane's relationship with Clarke and - eventually - Abby.
1. Chapter 1

**So, I had this idea - nothing groundbreaking to the plot of the series - but wouldn't it be interesting if Clarke and Kane were closer before and during the events of the series? I imagine Kane to be close friends with Jake and present in the family's life. I always thought that he and Clarke were very alike in their resilience and pragmatic approach, so why not imagine her getting it from him, at least in some part?**

 **Anyway, this will likely be a multi-chapter, but mostly one shots or very loosely connected events, described and intertwined with this new background piece.**

 **please share your thoughts and ideas!**

 **-s.**

* * *

"What is this?" she asked glancing at the tray in Marcus' hands.

"It's your breakfast, Clarke," Marcus answered matter-of-factly, hoping that his silhouette was blocking an additional – and definitely not edible – object sitting on a tray next to her actual breakfast.

Before she managed to fire another question, Marcus shook his head shortly. He glanced back at the guard standing a few steps behind him, next to the open door. The man was looking straight ahead of him but Marcus wasn't fooled – the man could hear every word exchanged between them.

Clarke followed Marcus' eyes only to move them back to his face a second later.

She took the tray from his hands and set the food on a tiny table next to her bed. While working on the food with one hand, the second one reached for the book and within a second she pushed it under her pillow.

Seeing that the book was neatly tucked and hidden, Marcus knew that it was his cue to leave, but he hesitated. He should have just left the cell not to raise any further suspicion. He wasn't even supposed to be there – head of guard was the last person to be bringing breakfast to a delinquent. He already noticed a couple of surprised and raised eyebrows on his way to Clarke's cell. The guard accompanying his was trusted – Marcus chose him himself – but there was always a risk of him mentioning this situation to someone who was not trusted. It was something Marcus couldn't allow to happen. He knew that he needed to leave, but _something_ stopped him.

Clarke was watching him with expectation and slight confusion painted all over her face. She also felt the tension rising in the small cell. Marcus knew her well enough to guess that she was experiencing the same conundrum as he – she knew that he needed to leave not to draw unnecessary attention but she also desperately needed him to explain himself.

As if sensing his hesitation, the guard behind him turned his head to look at the older man and the teenage girl inside the cell. Making his decision, Marcus was about to open his mouth to bark some order, when the young man simply moved from his post. A moment later, the door to Clarke's cell has been closed and the overall noise level diminished to almost nothing.

The silence was almost overbearing.

Realising what happened, Marcus let out a breath that he had no idea he was holding. He knew that they still didn't have much time. The closed door bought them mere minutes before he would be forced to leave. But suddenly Marcus was lost at words. His eyes focused on the walls and floor of the small cell – almost every bit of accessible surface have been covered in drawings and sketches made by Clarke's hand. He found himself staring at the floor, where he found a semi-finished depiction of a new moon shining over a line of trees growing by a lake.

He recognised the picture immediately. It was a replica of a painting that had been hung on the walls of Clarke's room in the Griffin's quarters. The same that he stole from his mother and gifted to Clarke for her twelfth birthday.

"I guess I should thank you for the charcoal."

Almost startled, Marcus tore his eyes off the floor to look at the girl standing in from of him. Clarke's hair was tousled and messy. She was also wearing a charcoal stained shirt and a light jacket. He wondered if the jacket and blankets were keeping her warm at night.

He wondered if the jacket will be enough for the nights on the ground.

He wondered if she will even survive long enough to test the jacket during her the first night on the ground.

"Kane?" Clarke's voice brought him back to reality once more. Suddenly he realised even more that they were running on borrowed time and he couldn't afford to waste it. He strode to Clarke's cot, pulled out the hidden book and lifted it to her eye level.

For the first time, Clarke took in the book properly and read the title.

"I appreciate the gesture, but I've already aced my Earth Skills 101 course," she told him, making a face. "Couldn't you have brought me some novel instead?"

"I need to have this back tomorrow before breakfast," he barked ignoring her snarky comment. "I will not be able to sneak it in again so make sure you read every bookmarked chapter twice before that time comes."

This time, Clarke shook her head. She was still confused, but the tone of Marcus' voice brought about to her face also fear.

"Why?" she asked suspiciously and then demanded, with a tinge of anger to her tone. "Tell me what is going on, Kane."

Marcus desperately tried to ignore the knot tied tightly in the pit of his stomach. He darted towards the door, leaning even closer to them as he closed his eyes. He ran his hand over his face and then through his hair, thinking of how he was supposed to do it. He still couldn't believe it was even happening. He still couldn't believe that her mother could've suggested doing it to her own daughter.

Or more precisely, doing it and not giving Clarke the best possible chance to prepare herself for what's coming, like they did with the others.

Resulting from years of experience, he was sure his face was devoid of emotions as usual when he face her again. He never was more grateful for his guard training than he was at that moment – Clarke needed to see him in control of emotions if he wanted her not to panic when he finally decided to reveal the real purpose of his visit.

He cleared his throat.

"You are being sent to the ground," he finally revealed after a long pause. "The rest of the prisoners are heading towards their last earth skills lecture as we speak."

His was met with a wall of silence. Marcus decided to take his time to study the girl's face in search for first signs of reaction – whatever it should be.

Clarke opened her mouth but no voice came out of it.

If he was honest with himself, he didn't know what to expect of her. He knew what he wanted her to react like, but in all honesty he couldn't fathom what was going through her head the moment he spoke the words aloud. Kane knew the girl standing next to him all her life, but never has he felt more like a stranger to her than in this moment.

She was staring at his face but he was certain that her eyes didn't see him. He, however, could almost see chaotic thoughts running through her head, chasing one another until finally it clicked.

When she still didn't move or say anything for another moment, he stepped a little closer towards her. It finally stirred a reactionnd from her. She covered her face just like he had seconds before.

She shook her head, but the words that left her lips were uttered in a voice full of desperation:

"You're killing us all to reduce population and make more time for the rest of you."

Wincing for the first time, Marcus was seconds from denying. He opened his mouth to disagree with her and tell her that they weren't killing them, but stopped. Abby would do it, he thought to himself. Abby would embrace her daughter and fed her lies on how the Earth could be survivable and how sending them down there was not an execution. The woman was too weak to face the reality and admit that she was simply choosing a different kind of death sentence for the hundred prisoners locked in the Skybox.

Marcus Kane had too much respect for the girl to do just that.

"You need to stay strong, Clarke," he told her instead. "Whatever happens down there, I need you to stay strong and don't give up."

For the first time, Marcus noticed that in her hands Clarke was clutching the book that he has given her. Her hands were trembling slightly and Marcus stepped towards her and grabbed her forearms.

Unexpectedly, his words triggered a flame of anger in her eyes.

"'Whatever happens'?" she repeated mockingly. Her legs tore off the floor and she cut the small space between them, pushing him hard on the chest. Unexpectedly, Marcus stumbled a bit, less from her push and more from the surprise. She shoved him again and this time he saw that her eyes were full of tears.

He gulped.

"I was supposed to be reviewed in a month," she hissed angrily through her teeth and tears. "I could have been free _in a month_ and now you are standing in the cell that _you_ had thrown me into, telling me to be strong when you are killing me for the second time!"

Marcus grabbed Clarke's arms again and pushed her away from him, steadying her as she stumbled after he made the unexpected move. She tried to escape his hold but was too weak. Marcus grimaced when she dig her nails into his palms but he didn't let her go either way.

"Stop it, Clarke!" he hissed while shaking her a bit.

It set off another wave of fury, but this time he was ready. Marcus quickly immobilised Clarke's arms and legs, pushing her against the wall to their right. The girl winced in pain and hissed but this time in pain, when her back collided with the cold and hard surface. She opened her eyes and Marcus was almost taken away by the amount of fear that finally surfaced. Clarke started shaking and it was Marcus' time to panic until he realised that she was sobbing.

Despite her breakdown, Marcus knew that the girl was strong – she had been since she was young – and it was one of the few traits that made him feel so protective of Jake's daughter. It wasn't only his promise made to Jake, not only the fact that – deep down – he was still a decent human being, it wasn't even the fact that being close to her daughter, drove Abby insane. It was because Clarke Griffin despite her age was the only other person that he knew that he saw would understand him and his decisions.

Even if initially, clouded with feelings and driven by instincts, when push came to the shove Clarke's strength was not blinded by emotions. Even in this case – especially now – he knew that she would see this sooner or later.

Clarke was still crying uncontrollably. He knew that it was ridiculous, but in this moment Marcus wished that Abby was there to take care of her daughter and soothe her. But Abby was not there and Marcus did the only thing that he deemed appropriate – he reached out and brought Clarke close to his chest. She clung to it.

"I'm sorry," he heard himself say, as if through water, and wasn't even sure what exactly he was apologising for. "I am sorry, Clarke."

He gave her another few minutes to get herself together. When she did, his expression was back to stoic when he observed at how she lifted her palm to her face, drying her eyes in one swift movement. Even though her face looked like it was carved in stone now – mimicking his own expressions, for sure – in her eyes hew saw a well-hidden panic. He took his chance now before she crumbled in front of him again.

"Clarke, they will be taking you tomorrow before breakfast," he murmured, looking straight into her eyes that were now wide open. "You will be dropped in the north west part of the former US, nearby an old military base. Nod if you understand."

She did. Marcus did all he could to keep his voice steady and tone matter-of-fact while he explained her the details of the plan. She was nodding sporadically or asking questions, but never tried to stop him.

"Your mother believes that the ground is survivable," he told her finally. "But we have no proof unless you land there and tell us yourself. You will all be given bracelets that will send us information about your vitals. You must not take them under any circumstances."

She nodded again. He mimicked the movement but more to reassure her and himself that the whole idea was not going to kill the hundreds of kids immediately.

"If it works, we will join down there you as soon as possible," Marcus finished.

At that, Clarke let out a humourless chuckle.

"If we don't crash or the radiation doesn't kill us sooner."

Marcus couldn't help but lift the corner of his lips.

"Your mother would be disappointed by your pessimism, Clarke."

Abby was so hopeful that she decided that killing her own daughter along with tens of other teenage prisoners away from their home was a better idea than floating them, he mustered to himself, not daring to make the comment aloud.

He still wouldn't believe that they will last a day on the ground. But every single one of the prisoners had made their bed and needed to lay in them. And Marcus needed the population to be decreased quickly to give the rest of them a chance at survival. Just like Clarke said. He couldn't care less how that happens.

He knew how he was viewed by other citizens of the Ark and he never denied the description and names that he was called. Cold. Calculating. Monster, even, by those whose families he floated. He ignored all this because he believed that he was doing the right thing. He knew that he was right. If the Ark is to survive, someone had to be relentless.

But _he_ never agreed to kill Jake's kid.

Knowing that he did all he could, that he told her all she needed to know, Marcus was ready to turn around again and leave, but she stopped him.

"I want to see my mom," she demanded in a strong voice that was only slightly trembling now. "Can you arrange it?"

He shook his head curtly, much to Clarke's dismay. He couldn't risk news that someone was granted permission to visit the solitary to spread among the population. They wanted the Sky box to be isolated from the rest of the Ark's citizens – not to bring people's attention to the place.

He expected that question, though and let the corner of his lips to curve slightly once more.

"But I'm sure she will find a way to illegally sneak into the Sky box before we gather the prisoners. I may be able to turn my head away when she does"

Even if he could, he wouldn't be able to stop the woman from seeing her daughter.

A sudden knock has brought both his and Clarke's attention to the door behind them. Their time was up. Marcus nodded reassuringly to Clarke and turned to leave the cell, but was stopped by her hand grabbing his arm.

"One more thing."

"Yes?"

"Don't let anything to happen to my mom."

Kane stiffened and the reaction didn't go unnoticed by Clarke. Her fingers gripping his biceps were biting into his skin despite the guard jacket that he had on.

"I know that you aren't friendly." Marcus chuckled, raising his eyebrows at the understatement, but Clarke ignored him. "But I need you to promise me this. If I have to go, I need to do it knowing that anything bad will happen to her. I'm begging you, Kane, please keep her safe, even if from afar."

He had no idea what made him nod. He did promise to himself that he will not lie to her, but there he was, doing just that.

Clarke thanked him silently with her eyes. She finally let go of his arm and strode back towards her bed, grabbing the book and opening it on the first page. Marcus lifted his arm and punched the metal door three times to signal that he was ready to go.

He let himself and his accompanying guard to leave the Skybox before he stopped the young man placing a hand on his shoulder.

"What was that back there?" he barked.

The guard swallowed visibly before shrugging.

"I'm from the Alpha station. I was living next door from the Griffins, sir," the boy explained. "All I could do was give you chance to say goodbye."


	2. Guidance - part 1

**Thank you for the amazing words of encouragement that I found myself getting after I posted the first chapter of this fic!**

 **I decided to continue with this and try to divide the chapters by a topic or a motive. Let's start with another flashback – Clarke being around twelve and almost failing one of her classes. This is part one and I will post the second part in a couple of days (weeks? – hopefully not!)**

 **Reviews are always much appreciated!**

 **-s.**

* * *

 **Guidance – part one**

Clarke was lazying around their family quarters – with a reading assignment in her hands that she wasn't even following properly – when the main door opened and two men joined her in the small living room.

"Hey, kiddo."

Clarke smiled upon hearing her dad's greeting. He smile turned to a scoff, though, when the man proceeded to ruffle her hair.

"Get away!" she shrieked trying to avoid her dad's hands and slapping his hands away. Her dad laughed but obediently took his hands away.

He then gestured to the second man – who was still stain ding in the doorway, if a bit stiffly – to wait a moment, before disappearing in the depths of his and her mom's bedroom.

Clarke grinned and waved at Kane. The man grunted uncomfortably.

"Mom's not here," Clarke threw with a shrug of her shoulder.

She then turned back to her book, but in the corner of her eye, she could see Kane's shoulders relax visibly. Seconds later, the man stepped deeper into the room towards her.

It was ridiculous to watch, really, Clarke mused with another roll of her eyes.

From since she could remember, Marcus Kane and her mom were not friendly. It wasn't a secret. Far from it, if they were being honest, but even as a kid, Clarke with real difficulty watched Kane flinch every time her mom's name was being mentioned in a conversation or she appeared in the same room.

Clarke had no idea what happened between them, but it was still funny to observe. And taking into account Kane's and her dad's friendship, such situations happened _a lot_.

Kane and her dad grew up together on the Mecha station. Her dad once told Clarke, that Kane and her mom had met even before her parents started dating each other. Needless to say, the first impression that they had left on each other must've not been of the pleasant kind.

Kane and her dad became friends when they were both little boys and even their different life paths – her dad starting apprenticeship with engineering and Kane joining the Guard – wouldn't keep them apart. Even her mom had no power over it, apparently.

"What are you reading?" Kane's voice brought Clarke back to reality. She blinked several times. Kane was sitting in a chair at a nearby desk. Clarke threw the book into Kane's hands.

"Some boring stuff for school," she yawned to highlight her point.

As predicted, Kane caught the bait and silently opened the book on the marked chapter. She saw the corner of his lips lifts ever so slightly and in that moment she knew that she would get what she wanted – a free, ready to hand homework.

It wasn't that Clarke wasn't a good student. She was – as much as it made her parents proud – but ethics wasn't something she was especially fond of or interested in in general. She only took the class because it was apparently required for someone in order to get a shot at apprenticeship with Medical and become a doctor, like her mom.

She didn't need to know the solution to every ethical riddle that the teacher was throwing at them in the class, though. She only needed to pass the course, not use the ethical crap. They had the Council and the Guard to decide what was best and bad for the Ark. Clarke trusted her mom and Kane enough to entrust hers – theirs – safety into their hands.

Six years later – when she would be send to the ground along with a hundred other delinquents – Clarke felt like a complete idiot thinking back to her twelve-year-old self and that belief.

"The trolley problem, huh?" Kane mused. "That's actually very interesting."

Clarke shrugged. She would much better be spending the afternoon with Wells.

"We have to present our solution and justify it," she explained with a roll of her eye. "But it stupid."

"How so?" Kane's voice seemed full of polite curiosity.

"Because," Clarke scoffed, crossing her arms. "How am I supposed to know what I'd do if I've never been in such situation myself. We don't even have a troll on the station."

" _Trolley_ , kiddo," her dad corrected her with a chuckle. "And I'm pretty sure we'd find a couple of trolls on the Ark, though."

Clarke laughed at her dad's joke but Kane was still serious.

"It isn't about a literal trolley, Clarke," he explained using his "teacher voice" on her. Clarke swallowed a groan hearing it. "It's a metaphor about making an impossible choice; choosing the lesser evil."

Clarke opened her mouth to response with another quip, but her dad interrupted her.

"Sorry, kid," he kissed the top of her head. "But I need to steal Kane away. Will you be fine on your own until mom comes back from the medical?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

Kane stood up from his seat and stepped towards her to place her textbook on her lap.

"Read it again and let me know what your conclusion was," he instructed her with a point glance that stopped her from rolling her eyes and groaning again.

Clarke watched the two men leave. Once she was alone again, she threw the textbook another hateful glare. She looked behind her at the closed door and let out another loud sigh.

When an hour later her mother came back home, with her nose buried in her own stack of documents, Clarke only threw a brief look and a short "hello" at the woman before returning her full attention to the book.

It was almost a déjà vu moment for Clarke when three days later her homework was interrupted by her dad and Kane entrance. This time, though, Kane was fast to approach the same chair he used before and pull in up to take a seat directly in front of her. Clarke lifted her gaze from the biology textbook she was reading and raised her eyebrows at the man's behaviour.

Dad must've told him that mom was getting home later that night because of another flu outbreak, Clarke mused before returning to her lecture. But Kane's eyes were still glued to her and suddenly something clicked inside Clarke's head.

She felt her cheeks redden and she opened her mouth – only to close it almost immediately and rush into her dad's side, poking him hard into his chest with all the ferocity she could muster in her tiny frame.

"You told him!" she hissed, her voice thick with sense of betrayal.

Her dad responded by raising his eyebrows.

"Told who what, Clarke?" he asked feigning ignorance, which infuriated Clarke even more.

"You told Kane that I failed my moral ethics assignment!"

"Hey," Clarke's dad tsked. "What did we say about talking about someone in their presence? Besides, I thought that you don't need a good grade at ethics, remember?"

Clarke thought that her face couldn't get any more pink. She pursed her lips into a thin line – gesture that she picked up from her mom – and stormed into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her with a loud thud.

Ethics _was_ stupid. It was also needless – she knew how to tell right from wrong on her own and any over-elaborated theory wasn't going to help her with that or change her life in any way, which is why she told her dad about it and wasn't necessarily concerned about her non-passing grade.

But, she thought as she threw herself on her bed with an angry growl – it was one thing to tell her parent. Having it announced to another person – _Kane_ – was something completely different. Maybe it was her mom's words and attitude rubbing off on her, but Clarke wasn't going to sit down and let Marcus Kane think that she was a failure. She will show them all that Clarke Griffin was better than some petty troll theories.

With a solid resolve, Clarke grabbed her ethics textbook and turned it to the chapter on the recent assignment.

It was easier said than done, unfortunately. Clarke groaned and slumped her head onto the pages of the book, completely devoid of strength, an hour later. Regardless of how many times he read the problem and its possible versions, she couldn't find the correct answer.

In the meantime, she could hear a hum of a football game relation and two muffled voices coming from the Griffins' livingroom. She knew that all it would take was getting out and asking for help.

Not that she would ever, Clarke chastised herself silently.

And so she went on, analysing, evaluating, considering and redoing all her arguments over and over, and – finally – she was _almost_ certain that she was right this time.

Until she wasn't.

But this time she bravely fought the urge to kick something. Somewhere along the way, solving the riddle became more than proving a certain point – a point that she was unable to name anymore, anyway.

It wasn't even about showing her dad and Kane that she could do it on her own.

Now, it was purely about solving the riddle itself. And she was almost ready to admit defeat.

Her dad's and Kane's voices were still present in the next room, the football game was also still on, which meant that Kane wasn't going home yet.

Jumping to her feet, Clarke shut her book an run out of her bedroom. Her sudden appearance must've surprised Kane, but not her dad who only glanced at Clarke with a knowing smirk and grabbed his data pad that was sitting on a table next to him.

Clarke cleared her throat and slowly approached sofa occupied by the two men.

"Daddy," Clarke forced a polite smile. "Could I borrow Councillor Kane for a bit, please?"

A minute later Clarke and Kane settled down at her dad's desk. Kane was still silent, watching her with clear expectation in his gaze, which made Clarke roll her eyes. Of course, he was waiting her out.

She folded her arms and declared, "I give up. Tell me the correct answer."

Much to her dismay, Kane shook his head and mimicked her posture and body language by leaning away and crossing his own arms on his chest.

Finally, he revealed: "There is no 'correct answer' to this question, Clarke." Clarke swore her jaw hit the metal floor, when she realised what he was implying. Once the thought settled inside her head, Clarke was hit by a wave of anger and flooded by the sense of injustice.

"What?" she threw out of herself, dumbfounded.

"There isn't a correct…"

"Then why the hell was I failed on my homework?!"

"Clarke, language!" her dad – who was shamelessly eavesdropping on them – scolded her, but not without a tinge of amusement in his voice. Kane, on the other hand, didn't even try to hide his laughter.

"I told you that ethics was stupid," Clarke hissed with a dismayed grimace, her previous resolve flowing out of her. "I already regret taking up this stupid elective."

She stood up but stopped when she felt Kane grab her hand.

"No, wait," Kane stopped laughing and she appreciated how he schooled his expression into seriousness once more. "Philosophy and ethics are amazing subjects," he nodded encouragingly. "And it's very useful, even though you can't see it just yet."

She responded with a glare.

Kane's expression turned into stone again as he let go off her hand.

"And here I thought that you were more than capable of taking the class," he shrugged. "Apparently, I was mistaken. Maybe it's best you took the class when you are…" he was looking for a good word, but Clarke interrupted.

"What – smarter?" she threw. "Because let me assure you that I am very smart."

"And also very young," the man looked at her pointedly.

"I'm almost thirteen," Clarke reminded Kane coldly.

"Really, because you're behaving like you're in a kindergarten still," Kane was merciless. "Are you going to storm out again, or yell at us every time you're not right? Wait, let me go grab my earplugs because I have a feeling you're going to do a lot of yelling. You are so much like Abby that…"

"Stop it!" Clarke stamped her feet. "I'm not my mom!"

Clarke scoffed at the ridiculous thought. She loved her mom, but there was no way she was that similar to the woman. But what stung her most was being compared to her by Marcus Kane, the man who disliked her mother so much.

Asking herself – not for the first time that day – why she was so dependent on Kane's approval, Clarke couldn't find one good answer, until she heard the words left the man's lips.

Clarke had made certain plans for her future and being treated like a kid all the time was standing in the way of achieving these goals. She wanted to start apprenticeship with the Medical and her mom and her goal was to become the youngest student in Ark's history. But her mom wouldn't hear her out, regardless of how many times Clarke tried to breach the subject, saying that she still had time to decide about her future. Which translated loosely into 'you have no idea what you are doing, kid' in her mom's language.

If she could gain Kane's respect, have someone like Kane treat her like an adult, then maybe her parents would, too, stop treating her like a child.

Biting her lip, Clarke moved back to her seat and put her textbook back on the table, pushing it towards Kane.

"Okay, let's do this," she took a deep breath and smiled a bit when Kane nodded with appreciation. "Let's start from the top," he instructed.

Clarke gasped when Kane wordlessly shut her book closed and bluntly tossed it aside. He was the one to teach her to always follow the instructions – how did he want to get to work without the book containing those?

"We don't need that," he explained. "The book would restrict your thought process."

Clarke nodded, pretending to know what he meant.

"Now," the man continued simply. "You are watching a trolley coming down the track. On its way there are five construction workers, who are unaware of the danger and will be soon killed. On the other hand, you can divert the course of the trolley to another track with only one person that would get hit by the machine."

Clarke was nodding automatically – she knew the problem by heart by now.

"Question – what do you do?"

"Simple," Clarke shrugged. "I switch the track."

"Why?"

"Because it's always better to save five lives instead of only one."

"Always?"

"Yes."

Much to Clarke's satisfaction, Kane nodded in agreement. He shifted on his chair and Clarke knew what that serious stance meant immediately. She braced herself for another salve of questions.

"What if one of the five was a criminal who killed tens of people?"

"I still believe that killing four innocent people to save one life is wrong," Clarke answered with confidence.

Kane smiled which made Clarke's shoulders relax a bit more.

"What would you do?" she asked and Kane was quick to answer: "Sacrifice one, then catch the bad guy."

Kane then proceeded to grill Clarke with more questions, developing situations and introducing more people to the equation. Soon enough Clarke began to enjoy the game and stumbled only once or twice before stating her suggestion of solving the case. She would also ask Kane about his choices and was pleasantly surprised to find out that he agreed with her on many times.

That was until Kane started to go deeper and deeper that Clarke's smiled gradually was turning into a frown.

"Imagine now that either of the five people on the first track were terminally ill," Kane prompted. "And saving them would only postpone the inevitable? Would you still save them?"

"I think I would…" Clarke hesitated. "It would be better to save one person for good."

"Even if the families of the five dead people would never understand?"

Clarke shook her head.

"But they would suffer eventually," she argued.

"Yes, and what if there might be someone able to cure them?"

"In that case, I'd rather save them," Clarke mitigated quickly. "But only if the chances of saving them were good enough."

Kane smiled. "Define 'good enough'."

Clarke hesitated – _again_. "Like – eighty percent?"

"I'm sure Abby would be willing to take the risk even with less than fifty percent," the man noted with something akin to fondness to his tone. "Would you call her decision wrong and yours good?"

"No," Clarke's voice faltered. "She has more experience, so it's obvious that she would be able to work with less."

Kane chucked suddenly. Clarke groaned and let her head drop onto the top of her hands on the table.

But apparently, Kane wasn't close to ending the discussion. He cleared his throat and asked if she was ready for another shot. Not seeing her way out of it, Clarke nodded her head in agreement.

"Ok, that would be last one," he announced much to her relief. "Tell me what would you do if you knew the one person on the second track?"

It was the first time that he addressed the topic, so Clarke instantly felt her blood rush in uncomfortable anticipation.

"Depends. How close am I with this person?" she asked hesitantly.

Kane thought for a second.

"Let's say Jake or Abby?"

"I…" Clarke stumbled on her words, not expecting that option to appear. "I think I would…"

"Stop thinking about the ideal situation," Kane prompted out of the blue. "Tell me what you would do?"

Clarke swallowed. Even though her voice was low, she made sure that the tone didn't leave Kane with doubt:

"I would save mom or dad. Always."

"You do remember that at the beginning you told me that saving five over one was _always_ better?"

Clarke froze when she realised that he was right. She turned her head to look at her dad, but the man was nowhere to be seen, so she assumed that he must've gone to his and mom's room.

"You are twisting my words," Clarke narrowed her eyes with poorly hidden annoyance.

"No," contrarily, Kane's tone screamed calmness.

"So, what would you do if it was dad?" Clarke asked trying to avert the attention from her.

"Sacrificing one life _is_ always better than five."

Clarke froze when she realised what the words were indicating. She bit her bottom lip and tried not to think about the fact that the man in front of her would be willing to kill his best friend, _her dad_ , if the situation forced him to do that. Even though Clarke could understand where this choice was coming from, she was still a bit mad at him for thinking that way.

"Let's hope that we never have to prove that theory in practice," Kane's voice brought her back to reality and the girl found herself nodding in silence.

However, she also started to see what Kane meant at the beginning, when he told her that finding one correct solution to the problem wasn't possible. Her mind wasn't fully comfortable with this idea – she was used to maths and science, where finding a correct answer was the ultimate goal, something essential to learn and develop. What she encountered wasn't sitting well with, but – well – maybe taking a break from her usual way of thinking would be a relief from time to time.

"I get it," she declared suddenly. "We could sit here and argue forever and there would always be something more to add, to take into account and someone else's opinion to consider…"

"Which is why there is no one good answer," Kane finished for her, triumphally.

"I'm home!"

Startles, both Clarke and Kane jumped in their seats when her mom came in. seconds later, Clarke smiled and waved at the woman, who froze for a slight moment when she noticed the man sitting beside the girl.

"Kane," her mom greeted the man curtly.

"Anny," Kane spoke back, mimicking the stiff tone of her voice.

Clarke feigned ignorance as Abby kissed the top of her head. But just as her mom was about to leave the two of them and greet Clarke's dad, she seemed to notice notes that Clarke made during her impromptu ethics lecture.

"What is this?" Abby looked between the pair, ignoring Clarke's poor attempt to hide the piece of paper. The woman's expression turned icy when she realised what she's looking at. "Clarke, go to your room." Clarke tried to protest, but her mom cut her short: "Now."

Letting out a heavy breath, Clarke silently gathered her stuff. She only managed to exchange a quick look with Kane, who looked bored at most. Nevertheless, she mouthed 'sorry' to him and obediently moved towards her room. Feeling her mom's glare on the back of her head, Clarke sped up and slowed down only when the door to her room shut close behind her back.

Only after listening to ten minutes-long argument between her mom's and Kane's hushed voices, did Clarke dare to approach the door and open it again. Kane was gone and her mom was sitting with her dad on the sofa.

"he was helping Clarke with this ethic homework," her dad was explaining her mom patiently, but not without a hint of amusement in the tone of his voice. "The same she failed and you told her to pass if she ever wanted to become your apprentice."

Clarke swallowed a giggle, when she saw her mom's dumbfounded expression painted all over her face.


	3. Guidance - part 2

**This is a sort-of continuation of the previous chapter. This time it's my take on the scene in which Bellamy is granted Jaha's pardon. I included Kane in the conversation, to present someone else's perspective on the interactions between Clarke and Kane.**

 **I finished it off with some one-to-one between them, so expect some of the angst about Jake's death to flood the room.**

 **Tell me if it sucks! (or that it doesn't :))**

 **-s.**

* * *

"You're ok," Clarke breathed as they leaned against the trunk of the tree. Bellamy was leaning against the same tree, panting equally heavily.

"No, I'm not," Bellamy responded immediately. He could hear that his voice was almost crumbling under the wave of emotions. "My mother… if she knew what I've done… who I am… She raised me to be better. To be good."

Face of Bellamy's mother flashed before his eyes. But instead of the gentle smile he remembered, it was full of disappointment.

"Bellamy…" Clarke sighed, but he didn't let her finish.

"All I do is hurt people. I'm a monster.."

He felt Clarke's eyes on him.

"We'll figure something out," she lifted the corner of her mouth and touched his arm lightly.

"You really believe that Jaha will forive me, just like that?"

Clarke sighed. "No."

She looked away and Bellamy's shoulders slumped down again. He eyed his hands and the thought of running away ran through his head once more.

"But…"

"But what, Clarke?" he barked. He honestly couldn't see any way out of his hopeless situation. The one other person that could confirm his version was Dax. And Dax was dead.

Hell – they might as well blame him for his death, too, he thought to himself.

As much as Clarke wanted to help him – she couldn't.

Speaking of Clarke, the girl closed her eyes and the next thing he felt was the weight of her head laying on his shoulder. She also squeezed his arm reassuringly.

"We'll figure something out," she repeated.

He knew that she barely believed it herself, but he had no power left to argue with her. "Can we figure it out later? He suggested. He suddenly felt exhausted.

* * *

After they returned to the camp, hours later, Clarke left him quickly and disappeared inside the dropship. He watched her go, not letting the blooming feeling of hope to spread just yet. On their way back, Clarke told him about her plan to start the conversation with Jaha himself.

 _He's a reasonable man_ , she assured him and all he could do was believe that she knew what she was doing.

He couldn't stop feeling, though, as if she was hiding something from him as well. Bellamy followed Clarke's small figure until it got lost in the darkness of the dropship and couldn't stop thinking that there was something she wasn't telling him, despite her clear – and unexplainable to him – will to help.

Bellamy found Octavia soon after they came back. Seeing his sister was both painful and relieving, even though she refused to even look at him. But when she accepted the blanked he knew that there was hope for them and that thought was enough to make his determination grow a bit more.

Clarke emerged from the ship just as he was about to join her inside.

"It's time," she breather with a short nod. He wordlessly followed her, ignoring the curious glances that some of the hundred were throwing them.

Clarke's hand stopped him before they made their way to the radio.

"I know I told you that I will have Jaha on the other side," Clarke told him, much to his rising suspicion. The look she was giving him reminded him awfully of the way she looked by the bunker earlier that day. "But…"

"But what?" Bellamy hissed.

"But we're going to talk to someone else, too. I realised that Jaha's lone forgiveness may not be able to get you a full pardon."

Bellamy frowned, feeling more and more like it maybe was not such a good idea.

"When the rest of the adults joins us down here, not everyone will be happy to see you after what you've done, even if Jaha lets you live."

Bellamy raised his eyebrows. "If?"

"When," Clarke corrected herself immediately and followed with a promise: "He will, I will make sure of that."

Bellamy crossed his arms on his chest. He was feeling doubtful, to say the least. He appreciated Clarke's help but he wasn't stupid. In the past, she might have been the princess from the Alpha station and her mom could've been on the Council, but now was a delinquent like rest of their group. Jaha, on the other hand, was the Chancellor who send them all down there to die. Bellamy had his reasons to doubt her, so he didn't try to his this when he asked: "What exactly is your plan here?"

Clarke bit her lip.

"If there is one person that everyone is going to listen to and follow person without a word, it is the person that values rules and law most of all Ark citizens."

Bellamy's eyes widened when he finally realised who she was referring to. He took a step back and shook his head.

"You must be kidding me, princess!" he scoffed. "He would execute me on the spot if he wasn't in space."

"He would not," Clarke argued ignoring his humourless chuckle: "How can you be so sure?"

The girl smiled but her eyes were full of sadness and he understood that expression with her next words: "Because if there is one thing that my dad taught me, it's how to make people believe in what I'm doing."

Bellamy was looking at Clarke as she was speaking to Jaha. He not even once dared to interrupt her and was truly amazed at the way she spoke – or rather what she was saying about him and how it was partially due to his actions that the hundred survived. Even though he didn't feel any of the stuff that didn't go bad was due to his actions. Quite the opposite.

He avoided Jaha's gaze that he felt on his face once in a while, still yet unable to look at the man. It was only when Clarke was done and Jaha shook his head that Bellamy's eyes moved from Clarke to the screen.

"It's not that simple," was all Jaha said before Bellamy decided it was his turn to speak up.

"It is," he opposed quickly. "If you wanna know who in the Ark wants you dead."

Jaha was quiet for a long, long time but he eventually leaned in and nodded his head. Suddenly, part of the weight that was sitting on his shoulders was lifted. Bellamy smiled with relief as Jaha said the words and he had a real urge to hug Clarke, damn the Chancellor. He turned to Clarke, but she only gave him a half-smile in return.

Now for the hard part, Bellamy remembered.

"Tell me who gave you the gun," Jaha interrupted their silent exchange.

"It…"

"I want Kane to be here for this," Clarke turned to look at Jaha, interrupting Bellamy.

The man on the other side didn't seem surprised by the request. He reached up to his ear piece. "Marcus, you can come in."

Even despite his recent happiness, Bellamy's arms stiffened as he watched Kane's face appear on the screen – full of tension and hostility. Nevertheless, Bellamy realised that Clarke was right, he needed more than just a bought pardon to feel completely at peace around the adults. If Bellamy could get Kane's approval, the rest of their people would follow his word.

The question remained, though, how was Clarke going to convince Kane – one person who couldn't care less about other people's opinions and thoughts and only caring about the law – to believe them?

Bellamy looked at Clarke, as if expecting to learn something from the look itself, but Clarke's full attention was on the men in front of her.

Bellamy cleared his throat and it was only then that Kane seemed to acknowledge his presence.

"Mr Blake," he greeted him with dryly.

"Marcus," Jaha warned the man curtly. "Let the boy speak. Clarke made an excellent case on Mr Blake's behalf earlier; let's hear his side of the story before jumping into conclusions."

At the mention of Clarke's name, Kane winced and his mouth moved as if he wanted to say something. Before Bellamy could spare it another thought, though, Kane's expressions changed back to stone-like disinterest. He seemed to suddenly lose all interest in the girl, instead bringing his full attention to Bellamy.

And Bellamy told them everything. He tried to keep his voice and tone as slow and steady as possible and Clarke's approving eyes told him his was doing great. He hesitated slightly upon mentioning Dax, but, again, it was Clarke's hand in his that helped him get to continue and eventually reach the end of the story.

He felt as if he spent hours in front of the screen while in reality only a couple of minutes must've passed. But the most telling difference was the sudden lightness of his body, as if an enormous weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

When he was finally done, neither Jaha nor Kane spoke immediately, their only reaction was a quick exchange of looks, but eventually it was the Chancellor who decided to break the silence.

"Thank you, Mr Blake," he nodded his head but it seemed like his head way far from the room. He looked at the man on his left. "Marcus?"

"This," Kane spoke slowly, weighting every word. "Is a serious accusation. Commander Shumway is a respected officer, who…"

"Who obviously isn't working alone."

Bellamy's eyes widened once he heard Clarke's words. Or, more precisely, their tone. The girl leaned closer to the camera is if trying to capture all of Kane's attention, but unsuccessfully; the man was still not looking at her.

"What makes you thinks so," Kane asked and Bellamy swore that even though Kane's eyes were on his own hands placed in front of him on the table, this time he didn't imagine the way the corner of Kane's lips moved upwards and formed the smallest smirk. Or the way Kane sounded – _almost_ amused.

Clarke seemed to swallow the bait – whatever it was – either way.

"He has no motive, no reason to want the Chancellor's death. He must've worked with someone. Someone who would benefit from chancellor's death."

"Who?"

Clarke scoffed, leaning away from the screen. Bellamy was a bit petrified and could only watch the scene with silent amazement, especially at the Clarke's following response.

"You tell me," she threw curtly. "You're the head of the Guard, I'm a delinquent, Kane."

She _was_ crazy, Bellamy decided.

He was nevertheless wondering about the source of her behaviour. He knew that he himself had a problem with authorities since they floated his mother and locked up Octavia, but Clarke was one of the last people on the list that he would imagine behave that way towards their superiors.

He wondered if it was because of her upbringing on the Alpha station, her mother's position in the Council, or maybe her inborn arrogance. Hell, or maybe she just couldn't care less anymore, Bellamy thought as he recalled everything that happened since the day they have been sent down to the ground to die – by the men sitting in front of them, no less.

Whatever it was, Bellamy started to like that side of Clarke.

If Kane was offended by the girl's previous snarky comment, he never had a chance to show it, because Jaha finally decided to step back into the discussion.

"That's enough. Clarke," he chastised her with a pointed look. "Thank you both. Now, if you excuse us…"

"Wait," Clarke spoke up again.

"Is there something else, Clarke?" Jaha asked, seemingly politely, but Bellamy could clearly hear undertones of impatience resonating in his voice.

"I want to have a moment alone with Kane," Clarke didn't miss a beat.

Now that got the other man's attention. But not only theirs.

As far as Bellamy knew, until now Clarke refused to speak to anyone from the Ark apart from Jaha, and that was only when it was necessary. She didn't even want to speak to her own mother, so Bellamy's curiosity peaked when he heard her and not for the first time that night, he felt as if he was missing something. He briefly wondered what could possibly link the head of the guard to the young delinquent and a daughter of his known political rival.

Judging from Kane's stern posture and hostile glare that he greeted Bellamy earlier, the boy was sure that whatever it was, it just saved his life.

Clarke wasn't looking at him, but her head spun towards him once he touched her shoulder in a last, silent sign of gratitude for what she's done for him. Clarke smiled at him reassuringly and nodded in understanding. However, something in the look she threw Kane a second later told Bellamy that whatever Clarke wanted from Kane wasn't pleasant.

Short movement of Clarke's head informed Bellamy that it was his cue. He rose to his feet the same moment Jaha did the same on the other side of the line.

* * *

"So…" Kane spoke up first, but trailed off, making Clarke smile despite herself.

"I'm glad that you are fine, Clarke," Kane finally interrupted the silence. He sounded genuinely relieved.

"It is good to see you, too," Clarke answered honestly.

Even though she was angry at the man in front of her, it was almost purifying to see his familiar face once more, without the audience of the council members and her mother. He looked more or less the same as she remembered him – handsome, shaved clean and proudly stiff around his shoulder.

However, there was something in the air around him that somehow has changed since the last time they spoke face to face – back in her cell on the Ark. She has noticed something was off about the man earlier, while Bellamy and Jaha were with them, but she was then too focused on getting Bellamy's pardon to give it another thought.

But as they were alone, Clarke finally decided to get to the core of the problem.

"What is it?" she asked.

In response, Kane averted his eyes.

"You haven't taken a good look at me since you joined Jaha earlier," Clarke pointed out. "What's wrong?"

The man resignedly lifted his yes from the table and moved them to Clarke's expecting face. While Clarke waited for Kane to speak, he seemed to gather his courage to spit out whatever was bothering him.

"I'm sorry, Clarke."

"Sorry for what?"

"Your mother."

Clarke suddenly was flooded by a wave of realisation. She remembered their last talk on the Ark and how she made him promise to look out for her mother. Even back in that cell, Clarke was aware that he would never give that promise a second thought – it was forced upon him more for her own peace of mind. And she was right – Raven told her about how he tried to float her mother for keeping Jaha alive and then how he tried to stop them from restoring the drop ship that was supposed to bring the two women down to the ground.

Clarke expected another wave – this time of anger – to hit her and was stunned when all she felt was… acceptance?

She thought back to Wells and his death. She thought about how her mother lied to her about her dad's death and how she allowed an innocent boy to take the guilt. She still couldn't muster how her mother could steep down so low to do that – not to mention betray her and her father in such a horrible way.

What Wells had revealed, crushed her to the bone. Clarke thought that she could trust her mother - she believed that if there was one person in the entire world that she could vouch for, it Abby Griffin. And, apparently, she was hugely mistaken.

"You should be sorry for breaking the promise," Clarke agreed after a moment of consideration. "But other than that, she deserved every second of that punishment until it lasted."

Kane winced clearly hearing the malice in Clarke's voice when she spat the last part of her sentence. The man's then eyes widened in surprise.

"What?" he gasped. "What are you taking about, Clarke?"

"I know that it was mom who betrayed dad and told Jaha about his plan," Clarke answered and her voice turned stone-cold in a matter of seconds.

"You lied to me about my dad, too."

Kane's chin stiffened and eyes widened in surprise as he heard her. Clarke watched as the man moved uncomfortably in his chair and his whole posture indicated shock. He was clearly speechless, as no words escaped his mouth for another minute or so.

For the briefest moment – after some emotions have worn off – Clarke forgot about the external world and their entire situation. Catching Marcus Kane speechless and anxious was nearly impossible last time she checked. Her causing the reaction in the man was even more unheard of.

While looking at his stunned expression, Clarke was almost prone to believe that he had no idea what she was talking about, but that thought disappeared when his expression changed again. Instead of shock, his eyes were now full of… shame?

Clarke cleared her throat waiting impatiently for the man to explain himself. "Well?"

Kane finally reacted. He rubbed his chin and swallowed heavily.

"Clarke, I…" He stopped again.

"You what?" she prompted coldly, feeling more and more impatient. "You didn't mean to lie to me? You thought that letting me hate my best friend for something he didn't do was for my own good? Or maybe you thought that it wasn't important for me to know that my own mother murdered my father, huh?"

By the end of her tirade, Clarke's mocking tone of voice turned icy. She felt her chest tighten to the point of it being painful, but she ignored the feeling. She wanted Kane to tell her the truth. She needed to hear him apologise for keeping her in the dark while she still trusted that he could be honest with her despite everything what happened all those months ago.

Finally, Kane said: "I'm sorry, Clarke. I know," he hurried to add seeing how she opens her mouth. "I know that it doesn't make it all right. But I honestly thought that it would be easier. We _all_ have."

Clarke scoffed. She brushed some lost strands of her hair away from her face. Doing so, in the corner of her eye she saw and felt a blur of silver caressing her cheek. The bracelet of her dad's watch's brushed her skin and that small touch of cold metal sobered her up instantly.

"You thought letting me rot in the cell, and eventually die on this god-forgotten planet, without knowing the truth would be _easier_? To whom? You? Mom? Or maybe Jaha? Is that what it was? You wanted to spare your boss the expense of…"

"Clarke, stop it!" Kane shouted suddenly.

Clarke's hand froze mid-gesture when she heard him raise his voice. Kane was breathing heavily as if he ran a marathon and his eyes were glaring at her with something akin to disdain. Clarke knew Kane all her life and she heard him yell – really _yell_ – at someone only once in her life. It was when she was being arrested and taken away – her mother was arguing with Kane, trying to protect her, ignoring the man's poor attempts at calming her down. Only, when her mother hissed something about her dad, did Kane really react: he smashed his hand against the open door and told her mother to shut up.

This time, he was looking at _her_ as if he was close to smashing the data pad he was holding on the floor. Despite that, though, his next words have been uttered with relative calmness:

"It had nothing to do with Jaha. I didn't even do it for you or Abby. Abby didn't even know what I knew it wasn't Wells."

Clarke winced.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" she demanded.

In the midst of it all, regardless of how terrible the whole idea was, Clarke couldn't get her head around the fact that even Marcus Kane hasn't been honest with her. She deserved the truth and she was certain that Kane of all people would understand that she shouldn't be kept in the dark about something that important.

"I did it for myself," Kane finally revealed, but Clarke didn't understand until he continued. "You have just lost your father; I didn't want to be the person who took away your mother, too. So I kept silent, hoping that it would be better if you didn't know."

After he finished, Kane was looking at her, waiting for her reaction. He seemed to even be embarrassed by the confession.

"It doesn't change it," Clarke replied in a small voice. She bit her lip and tried to gather her thoughts. While she felt a bit better hearing that explanation from Kane, she wasn't even close to forgetting about everything or ever forgiving her mother.

As if reading her mind, Kane added: "You should speak to Abby, instead of shutting her off, Clarke. She isn't a monster, despite what you may feel at this moment."

This time, Clarke outright laughed, not believing her ears.

"Quite the opposite," she scoffed.

"Your mother is just a human and she was face with an impossible decision."

"Why are _you_ defending her? She betrayed my dad – your best friend – and you are willing to pretend and act like nothing happened? I thought that of all people, you will be the last to even consider forgiving her, Kane."

"Remember how we were discussing the trolley problem once?" Kane interrupted her. "When she had no other choice, Abby made a decision that was driven by logic, not emotion."

The girl snorted. "This isn't some stupid homework. This was my father's life and he lost it because of her stupid choice!"

"Abby didn't kill your father, Clarke," Kane spat back almost immediately. "Neither did Jaha nor I. If you need to place the guilt somewhere, maybe you should start with Jake. He did it to himself…"

Clarke balled her fists and twisted her face into an angry grimace.

"Excuse me?"

"You don't think we haven't fought for him? _With_ him?" Kane asked, his eyes and the tone of his voice fiery. "Abby came to me asking for help when she realised that she couldn't change Jake's mind on her own."

At that Clarke hesitated. It wasn't a mystery to anyone in the Ark that her mom and Kane hated each other fiercely and there was pretty much nothing that they ever agreed on. However, Clarke clearly remembered those scarce moments when the two of them decided to put aside their discrepancies and differentiating beliefs in order to join forces and work towards something together.

A couple of years back, the Ark was swept off their feet because of the outbreak of a new, unknown kind of a flu virus that was potentially dangerous and left many of Clarke's peers bedridden for weeks. Jaha declared then that mandatory inoculation of all Ark population was necessary – much to her mother's dismay. Abby – who wasn't even a part of the Council at that time – bluntly refused to waste Ark's resources on something that, according to her, wasn't necessary as long as the virus didn't turn out to be lethal. What was remarkable about that situation, though, was the fact that unexpectedly – of all people – Marcus Kane chose to support Abby's refusal and firmly stood her ground with her.

It didn't matter that Kane's motivation wasn't clear – not everyone knew about his aversion to needles, so hardly anyone could suspect that such a mundane reason was standing behind this exotic union – what was important, though, was the fact that it took them exactly three days of planning and one short Council session not only to kill the sole idea of vaccinating people in the bud, but also to score her mother an extra monthly delivery of medicinal herbs and medicine to the Med Bay.

"Jake ignored both your mother and me," Kane continued. "We did everything we could to stop him and, quite frankly, there wasn't much we could do. He decided to go public, against the Council's order, our pleads and arguments."

While working together, Abby and Kane were always unstoppable. Hearing from Kane that even the two of them weren't enough to stop her dad from making the choice he made was big enough proof of his determination.

Kane's next words brought Clarke back from her memory:

"Abby going to Jaha didn't affect the final outcome of his actions, Clarke. Jake would have died anyway – the only difference was that you would have lived blaming him instead of us."

"No."

The point was – Clarke mused to herself with sorrow – while her mom and Kane were dangerously effective, her dad was rarely wrong about people.

Kane blinked several times in reaction to her words. Clarke bit her lip and looked at her nails before continuing, trying to keep her voice calm, but at the same time as strong as she could:

"You're wrong. Dad's plan would have worked. He believed in the people of Ark and I believe that they should have gotten a chance to know their fate." Clarke let out a long breath, fighting her own emotions. "My dad would have given them a chance. You, mom, Jaha and the rest of the Council took that chance from them... What is it?"

While she was speaking, Kane's expression changed gradually. Even through the shaky and crunchy video transmitter, she noticed how he instantly paled and something dark flickered in his eyes at the mention of the Ark citizens.

"I need to go, Clarke," Kane jumped to his feet, ignoring her protests. He cleared his throat and threw her a sharp glance while barking as a goodbye: "Don't do anything stupid until we join you down there. Then, we can talk again."

Before Clarke could react, the screen went black and she was left alone, sitting in her chair feeling slightly surprised about Kane's behaviour.

Surprised, but also completely and utterly confused.


End file.
